Grindelwald vs Voldemort: Laughing in the face of death vs always running
We read the Harry Potter series through Harry's eyes, and hear through him, Dumbledore's version of events. Repeatedly, Dumbledore had said, that love is the one thing that Voldemort could never understand...why?
Voldemort almost have no capacity for love at all, because he's a sociopath. Grindelwald on the other hand, was a psychopath. Threaten two children with fire to control them, and the sociopath will run away the first chance he gets - but he's never going to forget this, and from then on he's going to obsess over never being that powerless again. The psychopath on the other hand, he's going to stick his hand in the fire! - because he refuses to let that fire have power over him! Sirius Black, in his youth, was psychopathic - at least much more this than sociopathic. It wasn't that Sirius didn't love his friends, but that loving the ones they love won't stop a psychopath from hurting the ones they love, anymore than any fear of fire will stop them from sticking their hand in to Show It Who Is Boss.
Voldemort would have problems being redeemed by love - because he couldn't love when he couldn't trust, when Voldemort lives in fear, his name means running away from death. The closest thing Voldie has is Bellatrix, whose devotion was the closet thing Voldie had to a mother's unconditional love - unconditional offer of protection.
Grindelwald had a problem with being redeemed by love - because unfortunately love does not cancel out anger, not when someone had as poor impulse control as Gellert did when he got into that final fight with Alberforth (and when he got kicked out of Drumstrang, who probably went "It's one thing to learn and practice dark arts, it's quite another to run away with our dark impulses!").
Voldemort's problem is that he's always afraid, he never felt secure, Voldie is never ever going to mellow out.
Grindelwald on the other hand, could and did, 'mellow out with age'. I think, if there was never a three-way duel that ended in death, they really could have been happy, and if they have given it a decade, I think, Grindelwald being Grindelwald, would still wan to crucio Alberforth during a fight or kill his annoying brother-in-law - but would have learned the impulse control necessary to remember the long term gain of Not Upsetting Albus versus the short term satisfaction of following his rage.
Here is a short page on the difference between psychopath and sociopath:
http://helpingpsychology.com/sociopath-vs-psychopath-whats-the-difference
...but I do have to disagree with the general assessment that "psychopaths are charming because they could mimic emotions", I don't think it's necessary fake, that they hurt the ones they love is an attribute of poor impulse control. Ergo, a psychopath can be perfectly sincere at the moment where they profess that they love you and never want to hurt you - but that sincerity of love doesn't mean they are not dangerous.
...and unrelated to this post, but general GGAD ness, please look up and listen to Marcy Playground's "A Cloak of Elevenkind", I think it kinda fits the atmosphere of their summer together.
Voldemort almost have no capacity for love at all, because he's a sociopath. Grindelwald on the other hand, was a psychopath. Threaten two children with fire to control them, and the sociopath will run away the first chance he gets - but he's never going to forget this, and from then on he's going to obsess over never being that powerless again. The psychopath on the other hand, he's going to stick his hand in the fire! - because he refuses to let that fire have power over him! Sirius Black, in his youth, was psychopathic - at least much more this than sociopathic. It wasn't that Sirius didn't love his friends, but that loving the ones they love won't stop a psychopath from hurting the ones they love, anymore than any fear of fire will stop them from sticking their hand in to Show It Who Is Boss.
Voldemort would have problems being redeemed by love - because he couldn't love when he couldn't trust, when Voldemort lives in fear, his name means running away from death. The closest thing Voldie has is Bellatrix, whose devotion was the closet thing Voldie had to a mother's unconditional love - unconditional offer of protection.
Grindelwald had a problem with being redeemed by love - because unfortunately love does not cancel out anger, not when someone had as poor impulse control as Gellert did when he got into that final fight with Alberforth (and when he got kicked out of Drumstrang, who probably went "It's one thing to learn and practice dark arts, it's quite another to run away with our dark impulses!").
Voldemort's problem is that he's always afraid, he never felt secure, Voldie is never ever going to mellow out.
Grindelwald on the other hand, could and did, 'mellow out with age'. I think, if there was never a three-way duel that ended in death, they really could have been happy, and if they have given it a decade, I think, Grindelwald being Grindelwald, would still wan to crucio Alberforth during a fight or kill his annoying brother-in-law - but would have learned the impulse control necessary to remember the long term gain of Not Upsetting Albus versus the short term satisfaction of following his rage.
Here is a short page on the difference between psychopath and sociopath:
http://helpingpsychology.com/sociopath-vs-psychopath-whats-the-difference
...but I do have to disagree with the general assessment that "psychopaths are charming because they could mimic emotions", I don't think it's necessary fake, that they hurt the ones they love is an attribute of poor impulse control. Ergo, a psychopath can be perfectly sincere at the moment where they profess that they love you and never want to hurt you - but that sincerity of love doesn't mean they are not dangerous.
...and unrelated to this post, but general GGAD ness, please look up and listen to Marcy Playground's "A Cloak of Elevenkind", I think it kinda fits the atmosphere of their summer together.